Canada is on the cusp of a bioeconomic revolution. With its foundation of expansive forests and agricultural land, Canada is poised to unlock the value of its bio-based resources potential.

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has a big mandate.

With increasing urbanization comes an increased tax on our environment and its ability to sustain us.

Some children are reluctant students of mathematics; they’re not interested in learning equations they don’t think they’ll ever have a use for. I find there’s something magical, however, in plugging numbers into an equation and coming up with an answer – like solving a puzzle!

In his book published in early 2021, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster”, Bill Gates points out that the world is currently adding 51 billion tons per year of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and needs to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 in order to meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting the increase in global temperature by only 1.5 °C.

In a recent blog post, I discussed the importance of using the scientific method in evaluating new products. My historical reference to the origins of the term “snake oil” provoked some interesting reactions, but it was a device to attract the attention of readers, and apparently it worked!

In 2020 the French paper industry produced 6.87 million tonnes of paper and board. Like in other big European countries the main raw material source is recycled fibre.

In comparison with e.g., Canada, Finland and Sweden, the British paper industry’s fibre need is to about 70 % covered by recycled fibres.

Seven European producers of kraftliner and testliner are investing heavily to supply the corrugating industry.

With over $2.9B U.S. in revenue from exports of commercial pulp, tissue paper and other forest products in more than 70 countries, Resolute Forest Products (RFP) couldn’t really be faulted for deciding to sit pretty and enjoy the ride of being a Canadian leader in its field.

Kruger uses the best technology to produce high-end tissue

If you work in the pulp and paper industry, chances are you've come across the term circular economy, which has been creating a lot of hype as of late.

In my last blog, I emphasized that Green Chemistry Principles provide useful, actionable ways to drive innovation strategies and accelerate transformation in the pulp and paper (P&P) industry. Here, I will focus on a facilitating technology in the development and implementation of biomolecules, biomaterials, and bioproducts from biorefinery: molecular modeling (MM).

Increased level of pollution worldwide (soil, air and water) calls for urgent action and scalable solutions.

The Kraft pulping process, patented in 1879 and implemented in 1890, has shown resilience for more than 100 years, as it provides higher pulp strength and allows for about 98% of chemicals recovery cycle and energy efficiency.

FPInnovations is pleased to invite interested participants to a Webinar on the Role of Canada’s Forest Sector for Economic Development and Climate Change Mitigation, to be held November 10, 2021 (from 1:00 – 2:15 EDT or 10:00 – 11:15 PDT).

In forestry, where a considerable number of roads are built annually, the excessive presence of water in soils has a significant impact on road performance. This leads to reduced road reliability, increased road life cycle costs and reduced access to fibre.

A peer-reviewed article entitled “A guide to eliminating baggy webs” and co-authored by FPInnovations was published in the internationally recognized technical publication TAPPI JOURNAL (June 2021, Volume 20 no. 6).

This will be my last blog as executive director of PPEC, the environmental council I have run for the past 30 years. Yes, 30 years. Unbelievable how time marches on, isn’t it?

What is it about pizza boxes that they always seem to get singled out for special mention? Is it the guilt we feel at scoffing down all that cheese and pepperoni?

Green visions, aspirational goals, and political grandstanding are all very well in their place. But at some point, we have to be realistic.

Softwood pulpwood saw higher price increases worldwide than hardwood pulpwood, resulting in the widest margin between the two fiber sources in 14 years

Softwood sawlog prices have gone up in 21 of 22 WRQ regions worldwide in the past year. By far, the most significant increases have occurred throughout Europe and British Columbia.

Softwood lumber has been in high demand in the US and Europe throughout 2021. The limited supply resulted in temporary price surges to record high levels during the spring, followed by substantial declines in early summer.

Earlier today, Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) made a $10,000 commitment to support the Outland Youth Employment Program (OYEP) and its education and training program for Indigenous youth.

Canada’s sustainably-managed forests and the carbon-storing wood products they provide are key to supporting Canada’s transition to a net-zero carbon economy by 2050 - meeting conservation targets and creating the quality green jobs of tomorrow at the same time.

California Governor Gavin Newsom currently has on his desk a state procurement bill (AB 416) that threatens Canadian forestry jobs as well as a recently tabled and critical State social housing initiative.

Planar microwave moisture measurement, since its inception in 2000, continues to develop sophisticated instrumentation tools which greatly expand the utility of the technology into an ever-expanding range of papermaking applications. 

Introduction

As early as 2016, studies were introduced that showed numerous process control benefits that can be realized on paper machines equipped with the EasyScan traversing permeability, water content, and temperature measurement capabilities.

Introduction

In the day-to-day operation of paper machines, little thought is typically applied to carrier rope runs until something changes that affects downtime related to sheet transfers and/or rope replacement.

COVID-19 is having a huge impact on the world economy, the forest products industry is no exception, as many pulp, paper, and wood producers are slowing down their activities.

FPInnovations held the world's first platooning tests on forestry roads in Rivière-aux-Rats, near La Tuque, QC, last week, paving the way towards the use of autonomous vehicles.

The installation of a new turbine generator isn't expected to just generate new revenue for Domtar's Windsor, QC facility, it will also produce18 MW of electricity, optimize the mill's steam, all the while ensuring operational flexibility.

A large-scale pilot plant at Resolute’s Thunder Bay mill will further develop FPInnovations’ patented process to produce “2G” sugars and hydrolysis lignin (H-lignin) using mechanical refining, mild chemical treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis.

Some companies have latched on to this visualization technology to make at-the-scene maintenance more time-effective and sure. Integration with the Industrial Internet (IoT) is essential to achieve it's full value potential.

Stora Enso and BillerudKorsnäs announce plans to phase in microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) in paperboard products. Lightweight milk cartons with Stora Enso MFC are already market tested.